The future is fragmented.
So says George Tziahanas, associated general counsel and vice president of compliance at data governance platform provider Archive360, who argues that the days of monolithic, front-to-back, one-size-fits-all data services providers may be numbered.
Artificial intelligence has become both the hammer to break up single-provider data pipeline technology and the glue to pull together specialised tools into a customised, seamless integrated new architecture.
“There are very few giant platforms that are going to be your all-in AI tool, analytics tool, data governance tool, data management tool…” Tziahanas tells Data Management Insight. “What is going to happen is we’re going to have an ecosystem and you’re going to have to live within that ecosystem.”Fragmented Future Offers Flexibility
Tziahanas’ observations chimes with predictions expressed by other industry leaders recently as AI makes it possible for firms to bring together best-in-breed technologies to suit specific data management needs.
GoldenSource chief executive James Corrigan offered a similar forecast to Data Management Insight, arguing that companies like his would provide the glue that ensures individual data “components” work together in harmony.
“For companies that can’t live in this ecosystem and are trying to be everything, the number of people who will really sign up to that is going to be small,” Tziahanas said. “You’re going to have fit-for-purpose tools and the pipelines you can build now and how quickly you can get pipelines built, compared to even just a few years ago, is different.
“The data integration capabilities that are in some of these platforms or available through AI are pretty amazing.”
Tziahanas’ observations came as he outlined the company’s future plans for its Archive360 Platform. This offers clients the basis on which to build a defensive data governance strategy that is fit for new AI applications, agents and analytics.
Ironically, considering the disintermediated future Tziahanas sees for enterprise data management, Archive360 seeks to help clients overcome the limitations that fragmented architectures impose on companies’ data processes.
A key aim is to help firms move their critical system data from inaccessible and secure legacy systems into modern governance platforms. Only by doing that can their data be fully utilised and optimised for AI and other technologies.
“You have to start from that defensibility piece, which is ‘I have control of my data, I understand how it’s governed, I have the right platforms in place, the right procedures and policies in place’,” he said.
“You have to separate the system from the data – are you keeping the legacy systems in place just for the data management as opposed to just needing the data?”
Accelerated Data Evolution Makes Necessity of New Approach
The rate of technological change has made it necessary to completely redraw the way organisations manage and store their data, he said. AI has generated huge volumes of data that are hitting organisations’ systems and they are often overburdened by it, aren’t sure what to do with it or are unable to properly manage it.That means they must not only have a defensive posture – through good governance, good risk management and good policies – but they also need to ensure their processes are defensible; can they access the data they need, are the right systems in place to enable proper governance, is the data fully auditable, does it comply with regulations?
An important aspect of defensibility, he argues, is being judicious with data. Too many companies absorb huge swathes of information and use very little of it, either because they don’t need it or they can’t find it.
The Archive360 Platform is designed to enable organisations to pull their data from distributed repositories into a separately governed space where it can be subjected to AI-led governance processes. That AI is also governed within the Archive360 Platform.
From there, clients can identify which data is critical to them and what isn’t. Tziahanas argues that the cost savings of this process in dollar terms alone are huge, before even considering the efficiency gains.
“You do have to be thoughtful about the data,” he said. “And that’s part of defensibility. What data do I move where, what’s it going to be used for, who’s going to access it, what systems are going to access it, how it’s going to be used?”
Use Case Expansion Brings Cost Savings
Archive360 came into the world 15 years ago to help firms with their data migration operations. It has since evolved to include archiving for digital communications and now handles all forms of data, from highly structured to highly unstructured data.
While its client roster is includes government agencies, it serves regulated companies including financial services institutions. It cites a large US bank that saved almost $40 million by implementing Archive360’s unified data governance strategy.
Tziahanas says his company’s offering stands out from others because of its ability to connect with and stream data from diverse systems, making it immediately usable. It also captures clients’ AI interactions in real-time for regulatory reporting purposes.
“Not only are we providing hard dollar cost reductions but also the opportunity cost and the value that we’re creating because…we’re bringing huge sets of data now to these AI and analytics tools that create all kinds of new value that organisations didn’t have before,” he said.
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